F.A.Q.

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“Frequently Asked Questions”. As in, we get these questions all the time. So this is a list of frequent answers. If you can think of something that we forgot to explain, please use our “contact” page to send us an email. Be nice! We are happy to help if we can.

Domestic shipping – our kits are flat but we need to use fairly large boxes full of bio-degradable corn-based peanuts to prevent damage. The boxes don’t weigh much but cost more to ship than you may think because of their SIZE. The website cannot estimate the correct freight (YET) but kits can cost $15 or $25 (or more) to ship depending where you are. We may need to send you a bill for the postage.

BEST ADVICE: order several items at once (add them to the cart). See, the extra parts, motors, glue, etc. will essentially ship for FREE with the kit since everything will fit into the big box. If you order these items separately it will end up costing a lot more! (see the note on EBAY below) The website will most likely overcharge you for shipping but we will refund the overage. It costs nothing to add small items to a large kit box.

International Shipping – yes we can send our products virtually anywhere using the postal service or various couriers like UPS, DHL etc. We won’t ship to prohibited countries. Some important things to keep in mind: (a) the shipping cost will be VERY HIGH (b) once the package leaves the USA, tracking is almost non-existent (c) it may take a LONG TIME to arrive (d) Customs and duty charges are YOUR responsibility. And (e) there’s no way to speed up the delivery to your country – delivery is up to your postal service. If your country has lousy mail service, loses packages, doesn’t offer tracking — well we can’t help with that. The risk of a lost or undelivered shipment will be YOUR responsibility.

Your international order will not ship until we calculate and invoice you for the shipping charges. If you do not agree to pay the extra cost then we will cancel your sale and refund your purchase price.

ABOUT CA: Hyperbond Foam-Safe CA “superglue” is 100% foam-safe, not “sorta foam safe”, and it is 100% odorless which is important if you’re sensitive or allergic to glue fumes. Foam-Safe CA costs more than regular CA. Foam-Safe CA will also work on many other items like balsa, and carbon fiber – not just foam.

Regular CA is NOT foam-safe. It will dissolve styrene-based foams (EPS) like the kinds that we use in our kits. Regular CA can be used with some kinds of foam like EPO.

Our CA Activator will work with ALL kinds of CA. You can use the activator as a solvent cleaner and a pre-treatment before gluing.

CA is NOT toxic and does NOT contain Cyanide. Cured CA is an acrylic polymer, simply a hard plastic. If it gets on your skin it will eventually come off by itself, don’t force it. Soaking in water will help. Nitromethane can be used as a debonder – but the easiest thing to do is WAIT. If you glue your fingers together the glue will break down in 1-2 days and much faster than that if you soak it in water. Your skin’s natural oils will eventually break down the bond. Keep CA away from cotton, it will have a thermal reaction and is NOT removable. CA can be stored in a refrigerator for extra shelf life. Do not freeze CA. The key to CA’s performance is to use fresh product. The older the CA is, the less effective it will be.

CA works best when it is pressed tightly between two surfaces. It requires moisture (humidity in the air) to cure – and foam doesn’t have any moisture. We recommend using CA activator when using Foam-Safe CAs on our products. Thin CA is best for getting into cracks, Medium CA is best for construction. CA dries hard like a rock and can be brittle. However, there are other glues besides CA…

Beacon’s FOAM-TAC is an excellent adhesive that is made for foam. It works like a contact cement – apply a thin layer, put the parts together and pull them apart a few times, then the parts will stick together. Foam-Tac stays flexible and can be used to make hinges! There are many videos on YouTube that show a lot of really cool uses for this glue. Foam-Tac softens when it is heated so don’t leave your models in a hot car. Foam-Tac weighs less than CA and is UV-proof. Foam-Tac bottles must be sealed while being stored.

EPOXY is a 2-part product which is extremely strong – we recommend it for motor mounts. For best results, mix equal amounts of the two parts (easiest way is to squeeze out two equal lines of glue) and mix for at least a minute. Uncured Epoxy will crystallize if it gets cold (or old) – if that happens simply open the bottle and microwave it (less than 1 minute) to fix it almost instantly. Epoxy does not expire but can become contaminated with water over time. Heating it will evaporate the water and return it to normal.

EBAY: Not all our glue products are on the Rabid Models website. We have more have 300 adhesive products for sale in the Ebay Store (CLICK HERE) -the same items cost a little more on Ebay because of their fees! The idea is that you can save a little money if you order the glue here at the same time as your model kit. If all you need is a tube of glue – please go to ebay. We’re also on Amazon and ETSY as well, but Ebay is “home base” for glue.

DISCLAIMER – yes the disclaimer on the Rabid Models website is REAL. It has some fluff thrown in but we’re serious – do not put the airplane in your eye, don’t operate while asleep, don’t eat the glue, don’t fold, spindle, or mutilate, don’t play in traffic you moron. Don’t even think about it! Our products are for experienced adult hobbyists who know what they’re doing and we can’t guarantee your results, we can only guarantee that we will ship you what you ordered and if we make a mistake we will fix it.

We do not have a retail store. This is an internet business. We have full-time day jobs and houses full of foam. Sometimes we go to local R/C shows. Do NOT solicit us for anything.

We have posted a number of YouTube videos of Rabid Models airplanes flying inside and outside. Look for the channel “Foamerbird” or search for “Rabid Models” on YouTube.

The very large 8′ B-17s, B-29, and 9.5′ B-36 models that you may see are not available for sale. We produced these as custom-made models but the amount of time required to build them was prohibitive. The B-36 took 5 years. These planes use the same “blue wonder” motors and props as our models!

We can produce and sell spare parts for any of our kits. If you crash or damage one of your models and need a new fuselage, or just the nose, or one wing, use the “CONTACT ” page and let us know, we will be glad to help you out. We cannot ship full sheets of foam because they are too large to mail. We do not sell plans or drawings of our products.

We have a full selection of Carbon Fiber rods and tubes. These are expensive to ship (in a mailing tube) and generally not worth the postage cost unless you purchase a number of them at once.